Close Relations
by ncismka233
Summary: Gibbs goes into protective mode after a young girl is nearly kidnapped in the middle of their investigation. The whole situation brings Gibbs closer to Tony and Abby.
1. Chapter 1

It's a very dark night in a Navy housing neighborhood in Woodbridge, Virginia. There is just enough light from the quarter moon that the silhouette of a man lurking in the bushes behind a house is visible. The identity of the man is masked by a dark pair of glasses, a black beanie, and dark clothes. The man has a loaded pistol strapped to his black pants. He looks into the back window to see if the man who lives at the house, Navy Lieutenant Commander Patrick Lyndon, is there. The man in black spots Lyndon coming out of the back bedroom. The mysterious man is able to squeeze through a half open window on the side of the house. He ends up in the bathroom hallway. The man quietly opens the door and creeps into the kitchen where he last saw Lyndon. Lyndon was still in the kitchen, making tea. The mysterious man waited until Lyndon got closer to him. Lyndon went to turn the second light for the kitchen on when the masked man leapt out from behind the wall. Lyndon was surprised and scared to see a stranger in his house.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" Lyndon asked concerned and nervously as held his hands up. He was worried the man had a gun and his daughter was just in the other room.

"That's the least of your worries right now." The man said. He pointed his gun at Lyndon's face. "This is for five years ago." The man hand his finger on the trigger when Lyndon knocked the pistol out of the man's hand. The strong and protective side came out in Lyndon. He punched the masked man in the face repeatedly until the other man fought back. Lyndon's daughter walked out of her room when she heard a lot of banging out in the house. She was terrified when the intruder grabbed a gun off the ground. She watched her dad fight the stranger for a few seconds. The masked man eventually became unmasked when Lyndon punched him on the face again.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lyndon yelled. He recognized the man, but soon realized that was a bad thing. The man became conscious of the fact that Lyndon recognized him so when he found his gun he aimed straight at Lyndon's chest. The young girl knew what was about to happen, but she didn't know what to do. She knew if she ran out, the man would shoot her too. The girl quickly but quietly ran to her bedroom to escape out the window to get help. As soon as she carefully closed her bedroom door, three loud gunshots echoed throughout the house. The girl began breathing heavily and tears ran down her cheeks. She realized that standing around crying wouldn't help anything, so she forced her window open and ran next door. A piece of her black Paramore t-shirt tore on the edge of the window as she sprinted to the next door neighbors for help.

The following morning, NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked into the squad room with his morning coffee on an interesting conversation.

"Maybe if I just move this, he'll wake up." Tony said. McGee was holding his chin against his hand while he slept.

"Tony, why can't you just let him sleep?" Ziva asked.

"Because if Gibbs walks in here and sees McGee like this, he'll slap him so hard he might actually put him in a concussion." Tony said. Gibbs decided to watch what it was Tony was planning on doing to wake up McGee. Tony pulled away McGee's arm which made McGee's head slam on the desk.

"Tony!" McGee said annoyed. "Haven't you ever heard of sleep?"

"I have in fact, yes. It's this thing that you're supposed to do at night, not in the morning at your place of work." Tony said.

"For your information my sister is in town and we stayed up late last night talking." McGee said.

"Maybe you can hang out with Ducky and Palmer today and sleep in an autopsy fridge." Tony said.

"Tony, that's crazy." McGee said. Gibbs smiled and walked to his desk.

"If anyone does that, you'll have a reason to be in the autopsy fridge." Gibbs said.

"Understood boss." Tony said. Tony walked to his desk and got his crime scene gear when he saw Gibbs getting his gear. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Woodbridge. We got a dead Navy guy and a child involved, let's go." Gibbs said.

"Is the child hurt?" Ziva asked.

"No, the child is a witness." Gibbs said as they walked to the elevator. Gibbs drove everyone in the van to the crime scene in Woodbridge. Once they arrived, Gibbs sent his team to gather information while he talked to the man in charge.

"Do you know how this happened Commander?" Gibbs asked. He was talking to Commander Nathan Tom, the man who regulates the neighborhood misconduct.

"I don't have a clue Agent Gibbs." Commander Tom said. "We have very strict and serious security, so unless the guy already lived here, I don't know how he got on base."

"We're going to need security footage of this area." Gibbs said.

"Of course." Commander Tom said. "Agent Gibbs, what's going to happen to his daughter?"

"How'd you know he had a daughter?" Gibbs asked.

"I've been friends with Lyndon for years; he was like a brother to me." Tom said.

"We'll take good care of her." Gibbs said. He walked over to McGee to get more information. "What do you got?"

"Well from what the neighbors told me, the Lieutenant's daughter knocked on their door around 0130. She told them there was someone in her house and he had a gun." McGee said.

"McGee, get the security footage and get it to Abby." Gibbs said.

"You got it." McGee said. Gibbs walked inside to see what Tony and Ziva had found.

"What did you find?" Gibbs asked.

"There's a window open in the bathroom hallway, so that's probably how the guy got in here." Tony said. "A window is open in the girl's bedroom, but that's how she got out to get the neighbors."

"Where is she?" Gibbs asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Lyndon's daughter, Chelsie is next door with her friend Gibbs." Ziva said. Gibbs looked through the window to see Lyndon's daughter sitting on the stairs next door while another young girl was consoling her. As Gibbs walked out to see Chelsie Lyndon, Ducky and Palmer walked in.

"Jethro, I do apologize for our tardiness." Ducky said. "I'll have a time of death in no time."

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said as he walked out. He walked next door to talk to Lyndon's daughter, Chelsie. Chelsie looked at Gibbs as he sat down next to her on the staircase.

"Hi." She said with a shaky voice.

"Hi." Gibbs said. "I'm Special Agent Gibbs, what's your name?"

"Chelsie." She said. "I want my mom Agent Gibbs."

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Far away." Chelsie said sadly. "She's in the Navy too."

"Well at NCIS, we have a special room where you can talk to her." Gibbs said.

"Can I come with you?" Chelsie asked. "I'm too scared to stay here."

"Yeah, you can come. Do you think you can describe the guy who was in your house?" Gibbs asked.

"All I can see is him holding a gun to my dad's head." Chelsie said as more tears fell on her face.

"Hey it's okay." Gibbs said. "We'll catch him." Gibbs saw Ziva walking by, so he called her over. "Ziva, take Chelsie to the van with you."

"Of course." She said. "Come on." Chelsie gave her friend a hug then followed Ziva to the NCIS van. Gibbs got up and went back to the house to check on Ducky. Once everything was gathered, the team packed up and headed back to NCIS. As the NCIS van drove off, a man with an angry look slowly appeared out of the bushes from behind the house and watched the agents drive away.

**If anyone would like future updates about this story/future stories from me, follow me on Twitter ncismka233 I will update on here as well. Chapter 2 should be completed by Friday.**


	2. Chapter 2

Once the team was back at NCIS, the search for answers began. Tony and Ziva were looking up files on their dead guy while McGee stayed with Chelsie up in MTAC. He was trying to get through to the ship that her mom was stationed on. Gibbs walked down to Autopsy since he didn't get a chance to talk to Ducky earlier.

"Right on time Jethro." Ducky said as the doors swished open.

"Am I that predictable?" Gibbs asked. Ducky laughed and said,

"You're a creature of habit."

"What have you found out?" Gibbs asked.

"Our Lieutenant departed this world around eight hours ago. There are multiple defensive wounds on his hands." Ducky said.

"He was in a fight with someone." Gibbs said.

"Most likely. These defensive wounds are recent, so he most likely tried to fight off his attacker. This man suffered three gunshot wounds to his chest particularly in his heart and lungs." Ducky said.

"Is that your cause of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Certainly, one shot punctured his lung which caused it to collapse. Without immediate treatment it's no doubt he didn't survive. The fatal shot however, was the one that went straight through his heart." Ducky said.

"Alright thanks Duck." Gibbs said as he walked out. He went back to the squad room to see what Tony and Ziva had found on Lyndon. Gibbs found Tony and Ziva in the middle of a conversation.

"How could you possibly know that?" Ziva asked.

"Ziva, I am a professional." Tony said.

"At what? Annoying me?" Ziva asked.

"No, at being…" Tony stopped talking when he looked up at Ziva, but saw Gibbs. Tony looked to the side and slowly walked over to the plasma. "Being great at reading a Navy Guy's file."

"Hello Gibbs." Ziva said. She didn't turn around, she just knew he was there based on the way Tony was acting. Gibbs smiled and walked up next to Tony.

"What do you got?" Gibbs asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Patrick Lyndon, age thirty-eight and a native of Virginia. He married his High School sweetheart, Amber who is also in the Navy. She is a Lieutenant currently stationed on the Vinson in the Arabian Sea." Tony said. McGee came down to the squad room to talk to Gibbs.

"Boss, I…" McGee said before Tony cut him off.

"I wasn't done Probie." Tony said.

"I'm sure it can wait." McGee said. "We got through to the ship." Gibbs walked up to MTAC to talk to Lieutenant Lyndon with McGee right behind him. The Lieutenant was talking to her daughter when Gibbs walked in.

"Chelsie, I want to be there with you so bad. The Navy is doing all they can, but I may not be home for a few more days." She said.

"Lieutenant, this is Special Agent Gibbs. He's in charge."

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am." Gibbs said.

"Thank you sir." She said. "Please just find out who did this and keep my daughter safe."

"Trust me, we'll figure it out. The safety of your daughter is our top priority." Gibbs said.

"Thank you Agent Gibbs." Lieutenant Lyndon said.

"Are there any relatives Chelsie can stay with?" Gibbs asked.

"That's my concern. Both of our families live on the other side of the country." She said.

"She can stay with our forensic scientist, Abby at my house. Is that alright?" Gibbs asked.

"Is that okay honey?" She asked. Chelsie looked up with her glossy, dark brown eyes at her mom.

"Yeah that's fine." Chelsie said.

"Are you sure?" Her mom asked. Chelsie looked at Gibbs then back at her mom.

"Yeah." She said as she took a deep breath. "I'll be okay." Gibbs took Chelsie down to Abby's lab with him. Of course he had to get a caf-pow first.

"What's that?" Chelsie asked.

"It's some sort of energy drink. It keeps Abby going." Gibbs said.

"Do you think I'll like her?" Chelsie asked.

"Oh yeah; everyone loves Abby." Gibbs said as they walked in.

"Abby." Gibbs said. She turned around in her chair and saw Gibbs with Chelsie.

"Hi." Abby said. "You must be the Lieutenant's daughter."

"Chelsie." Chelsie said.

"Chelsie; I'm really sorry about what happened." Abby said.

"Thanks." Chelsie said.

"Abby, you want to stay at my house with Chelsie?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs, I would love to." Abby said.

"Good. Have you found anything?" Gibbs asked.

"I have… Um Chelsie, can you give us a minute?" Abby said.

"Yeah." Chelsie said. She walked to Abby's computer in the other room and sat down as the door closed.

"She is such a cool kid Gibbs." Abby said.

"She needs a friend like you." Gibbs said. "What do you got?"

"McGee sent me the surveillance tapes from the Base Neighborhood and Lyndon's house. We're going to have to rely on the Base Neighborhood's footage because right before the attack happened, the camera stream stopped working." Abby said.

"How convenient." Gibbs said.

"Too convenient." Abby said. "There is one part of the video that clearly shows someone on base who looks like he shouldn't be there. I can't get a proper ID since he's wearing glasses." Gibbs noticed something move in the corner of the video.

"Zoom in here." He said.

"Ooh, another mysterious man." Abby said. "His face is clear enough for an ID."

"Great, call when you get one." Gibbs said. He went back up to the squad room where his team was making progress.

"Boss, I pulled phone records on Lyndon." McGee said.

"Yeah, and McGee?" Gibbs said.

"And he has only made five outgoing calls in the last month." McGee said.

"Then why does he have so many calls?" Gibbs asked.

"All of the rest are incoming. The same number called him a total of eleven times in the past month." McGee said.

"Number belongs to… Gus Stevens. He was dishonorably discharged from the Navy last year." McGee said.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"He assaulted a civilian in a fight over a girl." Tony said. "Classic."

"That's not why he was discharged." Ziva said.

"Oh." Tony said.

"He was discharged due to a mission gone wrong." McGee said.

"He has also had multiple altercations with his squad, according to his record." Ziva said as she walked up to the plasma.

"Get him in here." Gibbs said.

"That's going to be a problem boss." McGee said. "He came back from Boston five days ago and no one's seen him since."

"What about Lyndon's CO?" Gibbs asked.

"As far as we know his CO has not yet been notified." Ziva said.

"Ziva, get him in here." Gibbs said.

"I will do that." She said.

"McGee, get records on Lyndon's CO."

"You got it boss." McGee said.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said.

"Boss." Tony said.

"You do a background check on Gus Stevens and figure out a way to find him." Gibbs said.

"I can do that." Tony said as Gibbs' phone started to ring.

"Yeah Abbs… I'll be right down." Gibbs said.

"That's really strong." Chelsie said.

"It's good though, isn't it?" Abby said.

"It's good just really strong." Chelsie said.

"You trying to get her hooked on those things Abby?" Gibbs asked as he walked in.

"I wanted to try some of her caf-pow." Chelsie said.

"Plus it's not like I'm giving her bourbon Gibbs." Abby said. Gibbs smiled at her, but Abby knew that look meant to get back to work and shut up. "Alright." She said. "I ID'd the creepy guy as… Commander Alexander Holland."

"That's his CO; good work Abby." Gibbs said.

"Gibbs, can you get Chelsie a caf-pow?" Abby asked.

"Abby!" Chelsie said.

"Oh you know you want one." Abby said. Chelsie looked at Gibbs. Gibbs smiled at her and said,

"I'll send DiNozzo down."

"Tell him to get me one too!" Abby said.

"You already have one." Chelsie said.

"You can never have too many caf-pows." Abby said.

"So, who's DiNozzo?" Chelsie asked.

"Tony is one of the agents and he is one of the most awesome people you'll meet." Abby said.

"Is Tony your boyfriend?" Chelsie asked.

"No he is not my boyfriend." Abby said as she worked on her computer.

"Why not?" Chelsie asked.

"Tony is a great guy and I love him, but I could never date him." Abby said.

"Oh come on Abbs, you know you want me." Tony said as he walked in, double fisting caf-pows.

"No I want another caf-pow." Abby said.

"So, what have you guys found?" Abby asked. Tony looked at Chelsie then back at Abby.

"Shouldn't we not…" Tony started to say.

"It's okay Agent DiNozzo. I want to know why this happened." Chelsie said. She looked Tony in the eye and said, "I don't need people feeling sorry for me; I just need a friend." Tony smiled and said,

"Call me, Tony."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony walked back up to the squad room to find McGee looking at something on the plasma. He walked quickly up to the plasma screen.

"What are we looking at?" Tony asked.

"Commander Alex Holland." McGee said.

"Oh yeah, he's the freak from the surveillance video." Tony said.

"He's also Lyndon's CO." McGee said. "Basically we're looking for as much info on Holland as we can get before Ziva brings him in." Gibbs walked up behind them. "He has been in contact with Lyndon four times in the last month, but here's the interesting part; he has been called the Navy Housing Base six times in the past two weeks."

"Good work." Gibbs said.

"Gibbs, where do you want him?" Ziva asked as she walked in with Commander Holland.

"I'll take him." Gibbs said. He grabbed the file on Holland then brought him to interrogation. "Sit down." Gibbs said.

"What's this about?" Commander Holland asked.

"One of your men was killed last night Commander." Gibbs said.

"What?! Who?" Holland asked in shock.

"Lieutenant Commander Lyndon." Gibbs said.

``Pat's dead?" Holland asked.

"You didn't know?" Gibbs asked.

"No. How would I?" Holland asked. Gibbs put a screenshot of Holland on the surveillance video on the table. Holland bit his lip when he saw the picture.

"You want to change your answer?" Gibbs asked.

"Okay look, I was at the housing base last night, but I wasn't there to see Pat." Holland said.

"Who did you see?" Gibbs asked.

"Um… do I have to say?" Holland asked.

"Not unless you want to be charged with obstruction to a federal investigation." Gibbs said.

"Alright. I was with my friend, Nathan Tom." Holland said.

"Why is that a problem?" Gibbs asked.

"I've been lying to my girlfriend about where I've been for the past couple weeks." Holland said. "Nathan has a nice ring and he said he'd sell it to me because I'm planning on proposing to my girlfriend soon."

"Okay." Gibbs said. "Did Lyndon have problems with anyone?"

"Just one guy that I know of; Gus Stevens. He was in the squad, but was dishonorably discharged about a year ago. Stevens had no focus and was always screwing things up." Holland said.

"You didn't have him in your squad last year." Gibbs said.

"Well that's what Commander Dever told me." Holland said.

"Commander Dever?" Gibbs asked.

"He was the squad's CO before they were transferred to me." Holland said.

Alright thanks." Gibbs said. He went back to the squad room.

"Boss, I talked to Commander Tom and confirmed that he was with Holland last night." McGee said.

"Has anyone found Stevens yet?" Gibbs asked.

"No, but I think I know how to find him." Tony said. "Ziva and I brought Stevens' laptop to Abby after searching through his apartment. She found blueprints in a folder called, Woodbridge Thespian Center. Turns out Stevens is a theater nerd. I found an address on the place."

"Take Ziva." Gibbs said. Tony and Ziva left to find Stevens while Gibbs went down to Autopsy and McGee went down to Abby's lab. Tony had a feeling they would find something as they got closer to the theater. Tony knocked on the dull black door and shortly after, a young woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, NCIS, we're looking for Gus Stevens." Ziva said.

"Oh, I'm sorry he actually just went to the ER." She said.

"The ER?" Tony asked.

"Come in and I'll explain." The woman said. "Why is NCIS looking for Gus? Is something wrong?"

"Well that's what we're here to find out ma'am." Tony said.

"Oh sorry, I'm Mallory Sawyer. My brother runs this place." She said as she opened the auditorium door.

"So what does Stevens do around here Mrs. Sawyer?" Tony asked.

"He builds sets for all of the shows. Right now we're working on _The Importance of Being Earnest_ right now." Mallory said. "And it's, Miss Sawyer, Agent DiNozzo."

"Good to know." Tony said.

"Miss Sawyer, we need to talk to Gus Stevens. Which hospital is he at?" Ziva said.

"He's at the Sentara Northern VA Medical Center. He cut his wrist on some wood." Mallory said. A guy who looked like a teenager walked up to Ziva and said in a British accent,

"Are you Cecily?" Ziva looked at Tony then back at the guy and said,

"Um… no; I am not." She said.

"You sound more like Lady Bracknell." He said. Ziva looked at Mallory.

"Okay Jordan, please stop harassing Federal Agents." Mallory said. Jordan looked at Tony and Ziva then ran down to the stage. Tony and Ziva thanked Mallory then went to the hospital to talk to Stevens.

"So how exactly is Stevens linked to all of this?" Tony asked.

"He was involved in an op that went wrong." Ziva said. "Lyndon didn't help when Stevens' equipment malfunctioned; he further complicated it and gave away their position.

"Oh right." Tony said. "Dever rebelled when the Navy dropped his rank." Tony and Ziva walked into the hospital and found a nurse. Tony showed the young nurse Stevens' picture and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where we can find this guy?"

"Yes, he's right over there." She said.

"Thanks." Tony said. He turned around and watched the nurse walk away. Ziva hit him on the shoulder and said,

"Tony!"

"Sorry." Tony said. "She is very attractive." Stevens was in the ER bed with a red and swollen wrist. He was in a lot of pain, but got really nervous when he saw what appeared to be police walking towards him. He was waiting for a nurse to put stitches in his wrist, but with marijuana on him, he bolted to the nearest door.

"Really? In a hospital?" Tony said as he ran after Stevens.

"I'll get the back." Ziva said. Tony chased Stevens through a busy hospital hallway.

"Stevens!" Tony yelled. Stevens looked back to see if Tony was behind him, but ended up tripping over a chair. Tony grabbed Stevens by his uninjured arm. "Get up!" Tony said. He took Stevens back to get his stitches and called Ziva. They questioned Stevens as the nurse stitched up his wrist.

"Why'd you run Stevens?" Tony asked. Stevens looked away and sighed. He grabbed a small coin bag out of his pocket and handed it to Tony. Tony looked in the bag and found marijuana. "Ah, nice collection. Except that's not why we're here."

"What's going on?" Stevens asked.

"Do you know Lieutenant Commander Patrick Lyndon?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah, I just talked to him last week." Stevens said. "Did something happen to him?"

"He was shot dead last night." Tony said.

"What?" Stevens said. "Well why are you talking to me?"

"He was part of the reason you were discharged from the Navy; that means you have motive." Ziva said.

"You think I killed him?" Stevens asked.

"Well did you?" Tony asked.

"No!" Stevens said. "He was my friend."

"Okay Mr. Stevens, be careful and come back in two weeks." The nurse said.

"Okay, thank you." Stevens said. He was taken to NCIS and questioned further… by Gibbs.

**Okay here's what's going to happen this week. I have Chapter 4 done, but I still have to type it. I'll work on it during the day in school (as I usually do) and then we have thanksgiving break on Thursday, but my mom is letting my skip Wednesday because it's a half day. The point is, I'll have a lot of time to write so hopefully Chapters 4-6 will be done by this Friday. P.S. The story is getting intense! Sneak Peak: **

**Chelsie pulled out a sketch book from her bag and started to draw. **

**"You draw?" Tony asked.**

**"Yep." She said. "My family moved around a lot when I was little, so I needed something to do."**

**"You're good at it." Tony said. Tony looked closer at what she was drawing. "Chelsie, is that the guy who was fighting with your dad?" Tony asked.**

**"No, it's a guy who I keep seeing today." She said.**

**"What do you mean you keep seeing him?" Tony asked.**

**TO BE CONTINUED :)**

**~ katie**


	4. Chapter 4

While Gibbs interrogated Stevens, Abby was receiving some good news from Chelsie.

"You really think you could describe the killer?" Abby asked.

"I'm not sure." Chelsie said. "I only saw him for a few seconds." Tony walked in with Stevens.

"Abby, can you check this guy for GSR?" Tony asked.

"Of course." Abby said. "I'll need your jacket for a couple hours."

"Are you serious? It's freezing outside." Stevens said.

"Don't worry; we'll keep you warm in interrogation." Tony said. He brought Stevens back to interrogation then went back to the squad room. "That guy is really creepy." Tony said.

"And innocent." Ziva said. "According to six people Stevens was at rehearsal at the theater for the past week."

"He was our only suspect." McGee said.

"Untrue McLost." Tony said. He pulled up a file on the plasma. "Lieutenant Jason Dever lost his position of Commanding Officer two years ago because of that op."

"He was a Commanding Officer for six years before he lost his rank." McGee said.

"Might be seeking revenge." Gibbs said as he walked in. "Get him in here."

"You got it." Tony said. An hour later, Dever was in interrogation waiting for Gibbs. "Guy looks nervous." Tony said. He and McGee were watching Dever from behind the glass.

"Do you think he's hiding something?" McGee asked.

"We'll know soon." Tony said. Gibbs walked in and sat down.

"Sir, what is this about?" Dever asked. Gibbs put pictures from the murder scene on the table. Dever picked them up and looked closer. "Oh my god, is that Lyndon?" Dever asked. Gibbs stared at him. "How did this happen?"

"He was shot last night. He was part of the reason you lost your position as CO." Gibbs said.

"What does that make me a killer?" Dever asked.

"I don't know, does it?" Gibbs asked.

"Look, if I wanted to kill someone I would've killed Stevens. He's the one that started everything." Dever said.

"Where were you last night?" Gibbs asked.

"At home with my family." Dever said. Gibbs left and had McGee check his alibi. When Dever's alibi checked out, Gibbs ran out of options.

"What now boss?" Tony asked.

"You take Abby and Chelsie to my house and stay with them." Gibbs said. "McGee, Ziva, look for answers."

"You got it." Tony said. He grabbed his stuff and ran down to Abby's lab. "Abbs." Tony said. Abby jolted around to look at him. "Ready to go?"

"Can I have another caf-pow first?" Abby asked.

"How many have you had today?" Tony asked.

"Eleventy-five." Abby said. She jerked back around to her computer.

"Abby, take a break." Tony said. Abby calmed down and went to Gibbs' house with Tony and Chelsie. "Welcome to casa de Gibbs." Tony said as they pulled up.

"It looks like a nice house." Chelsie said.

"Um… don't judge a book by its cover." Abby said.

"What do you mean?" Chelsie asked.

"Gibbs isn't the most exciting person." Tony said. He opened the door and let them inside. Chelsie looked around and said,

"You weren't kidding."

"He's no Martha Stewart that's for sure." Tony said.

"I'm going to make dinner." Abby said. She was still a little wired from the caf-pows. Chelsie set her bag on the table and sat down. She took a drawing pad out of her bag and started sketching. Tony watched Chelsie sketch.

"You draw?" he asked.

"Yep." Chelsie said. "We moved around a lot when I was little and I needed a hobby."

"You're pretty good at it." Tony said.

"Thanks." Chelsie said. Tony looked closer at what she was sketching.

"Chelsie, is that the guy who was fighting with your dad?" he asked.

"No it's a guy I keep seeing." She said.

"What do you mean you keep seeing him?" Tony asked.

"I saw him this morning when we left for NCIS and when we were driving here." Chelsie said. "He was hiding in a bush."

"Can I take this?" Tony asked when she finished.

"Sure." Chelsie said. Tony took the sketch and pulled out his phone to call Gibbs. Before Tony had a chance to call Gibbs, Abby ran in with something stuck on her hand.

"It's stuck." Abby said.

"Is that a cheese grater?" Tony asked.

"Maybe." Abby said.

"How do you get your hand stuck in a cheese grater?" Tony asked as he pulled her hand out.

"I don't know." Abby said. "I was trying to make pizza."

"Why don't we just order one?" Tony asked.

"Good call." Abby said. She ordered a pizza while Tony called Gibbs. They had dinner then went to bed. Abby and Chelsie slept in the guest room while Tony was watching a movie on his phone downstairs. Tony knew if he fell asleep, Gibbs would kill him. Chelsie couldn't sleep; all she could think of was her dad. All she wanted was to have her mom home with her. She started to text her mom, but remembered she couldn't since her mom was still on the ship. Instead, Chelsie texted her friend, Halley from next door. It was midnight, so Chelsie didn't expect a reply. She looked out the window and saw something move behind the cars. Chelsie decided to go downstairs and investigate.


	5. Chapter 5

Chelsie walked downstairs and saw Tony on the couch with his phone and headphones. Whatever he was watching must have been interesting because he didn't even see Chelsie walk into the kitchen. She looked around the kitchen then walked to the window. She turned around and gasped when the doorknob clicked. She walked towards the side of the room and waited to see who would come in. A few seconds later, the door opened and a man walked in. Chelsie thought she was out of sight, but that thought was quickly dismissed.

"Know me?" the man asked. Chelsie gasped and tried to run away, but the man grabbed her.

"Tony!" she yelled. Chelsie kicked him in the shin and elbowed him on the stomach. She did whatever she could to try to make him let her go. "Tony!" she yelled again. Tony glanced up and yanked his earphones out when he saw what was going on. He grabbed a hold of Chelsie and tried to get her back from the intruder. Tony took a step back then pulled his gun out.

"Let her go now!" Tony demanded. The man stopped struggling with Chelsie and looked at Tony.

"Back off!" the man demanded.

"Make me." Tony said. Tony didn't mean to actually make him back off, but that's what the guy did. He pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Tony.

"I said back off!" the guy said. Tony wanted to shoot, but he couldn't risk hitting Chelsie. Tony knew he had to do something fast before someone got hurt. He grabbed a hold of the guy's wrist and tried to hit his hand against the wall. They struggled for a few seconds before someone struck the guy on the head. Chelsie fell down with him. She got up and ran to Tony and hugged him tightly.

"Put the gun away Tony." A voice said from the shadows of the kitchen. It was Gibbs; he walked into the light. Tony put his gun back into its holster.

"Thanks boss." Tony said as he caught his breath.

"Is this the same guy you sent a sketch of?" Gibbs asked.

"That's my guess." Tony said. Gibbs grabbed the gun off the floor then pulled off the guy's black ski mask to see who he was. "We have another guy in the mix." Tony said.

"Chelsie, do you know this guy?" Gibbs asked.

"No." Chelsie said. "I've seen him a few times today, so I think he's been following me."

"Where's Abby?" Gibbs asked. Abby walked half way down the stairs and looked down at everyone.

"I heard a crash." Abby said. Gibbs looked up at her and asked,

"You okay Abbs?"

"I had twelve caf-pows today and I'm trying to recover from it and you people are interrupting the process." Abby said. "Goodnight." She walked back upstairs. Gibbs smiled then looked back at Tony.

"Get him to NCIS." Gibbs said. Tony looked down at Chelsie.

"Will you be okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said. Tony let her go and got the creep into his car and back to NCIS. Gibbs stopped Chelsie when she tried to go back upstairs. He put his hand on her back and sat down with her on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Gibbs asked.

"I just want my dad back." Chelsie said. "I can't even sleep because all I can see is my dad."

"We're doing everything we can to get your mom back." Gibbs said.

"I know." She said. Even though Chelsie was broken inside she didn't want to show it. Gibbs has been in plenty of these situations with his team; especially with Tony. He knew exactly how to handle a damaged soul. "You were right about Abby; I really like her."

"Yeah, everyone likes Abby." Gibbs said.

"I really like Tony too." She said. "He wouldn't give up trying to get that creep away."

"He's a good agent." Gibbs said. Chelsie looked at him. "He wouldn't let anyone hurt you. Neither will I." She looked back down at the floor. "You're a lot like him." Gibbs said. She looked back at Gibbs.

"How?" she asked.

"He oppresses his feelings when he's hurting." Gibbs said.

"I've always done that." Chelsie said. "Both of my parents are in the Navy, so they taught me to be strong."

"You can't express your feelings?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course I can." Chelsie said. "Whether I chose to or not is up to me and I don't think other people should have to worry about me."

"I'm the same way." Gibbs said.

"You're a marine, isn't that how you're built?" Chelsie asked. Gibbs looked at her. "I can tell." She said. "My dad loves Marines. You would have liked him."

"I'm sure I would." Gibbs said.

"Abby is almost like a sister." Chelsie said. "She and I just connected so easy."

"Abby has a big heart." Gibbs said.

"Do you know she has a farting hippo?" Chelsie asked.

"Oh yeah." Gibbs said. "She has some quirks, but that's what makes Abby, Abby. She brightens your day if you're having a bad one."

"How do you feel about Tony?" she asked. Gibbs smiled and said,

"Tony is a great guy. I'm hard on him sometimes, but he puts up with it and uses it to grow as a person."

"He told me that you smack McGee on the head; do you do the same with him?" she asked.

"I do it to Tony more than McGee." Gibbs said. "He screws around more. Sometimes he's just asking to be slapped on the head."

"Why do slap him?" she asked.

"It works." Gibbs asked. "He's a lot like me when I was his age. It's almost like I'm hitting the past me to stop."

"I guess I'm a combination of all three of you." Chelsie said.

"You are what your mom described you as." Gibbs said. "I talked to her a couple of hours ago and she said you're the strongest and best person she knows."

"I miss her." She said.

"I know." Gibbs said. "Hopefully she'll be here in two days." Chelsie looked at Gibbs and hugged him.

"Thanks." She said.

"Aw!" Abby said from the top of the stairs. She had been listening the whole time. "You guys are so cute!" Abby hugged them and they talked for a while longer. Back at NCIS, McGee had found an identity of the mystery intruder.


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs stayed with Abby and Chelsie that night and brought them with him back to NCIS in the morning. He didn't want anything to happen to Chelsie. He decided to let Chelsie spend the day with Ducky. Ducky could analyze her thoughts while Abby catches up on some work. Gibbs went to the squad room after he got his coffee.

"Boss, this is who tried to kidnap Chelsie last night." Tony said. "McGee, McClick the McScreen." McGee pulled up the file on the guy on the plasma.

"This is Joseph Lieberman." McGee said. "He has no connection to the military, but he does have a connection to Lyndon."

"According to his record; Lieberman was charged with assault and battery in 09'." Ziva said. "The police report says; Lieberman assaulted Lyndon with a drum stick."

"You can hurt someone with a chicken?" Tony asked.

"The instrument Tony." Ziva said annoyed. McGee looked at Tony.

"What? It's a valid question, I just wanted to clarify and…" Tony was interrupted with a slap on the head. "Thank you boss."

"Here's where things get interesting." McGee said. "There is also a battery charge against Stevens for the same thing. We didn't see it the first time because we just looked at his Navy record."

"Good work. Get Stevens in here." Gibbs said. Gibbs sent Chelsie down to Autopsy to spend some time with Ducky. Gibbs went down to Autopsy to see how Chelsie was doing. He hoped she wasn't being tortured to listen to all of Ducky's stories.

"Hello Jethro." Ducky said.

"How'd you know it was him?" Chelsie asked. Ducky hadn't turned around to see who was in the lab.

"I just know." Ducky said. He smiled at her then turned to Gibbs.

"How are you guys doing?" Gibbs asked.

"We're doing great. Can I speak with you?" Ducky said. He and Gibbs stepped out to the hallway to talk.

"How is she?" Gibbs asked.

"She is a remarkable young girl Jethro. Not that she shows it, but I'm sure she's traumatized from what happened last night. The more traumatic events that happen, the more she'll oppress her feelings and emotions. She doesn't want to let her guard down until her mother comes home. The best thing for her is to have someone who she can express her feelings to. You, Abby and Tony are the ones she is more likely to open up to." Ducky said.

"Alright thanks Duck. Send her up to Abby when she's ready." Gibbs said.

"Certainly." Ducky said. Gibbs walked to the elevator and pressed the button. The elevator was about to go up, but Chelsie slipped through before it did.

"He talks a lot." She said. Gibbs chuckled and said,

"I know. He's a good guy though."

"Are you going to Abby's?" Chelsie asked.

"I need to get a caf-pow first." Gibbs said.

"Can she go a day without having one of those things?" Chelsie asked.

"Nope." Gibbs said.

"Can you go a day without coffee?" she asked.

"Nope." Gibbs said.

"Don't you shake? If my mom has too much coffee, she shakes a lot." She said.

"You get used to the caffeine after a while." Gibbs said.

"Where am I going to stay tonight? I'm not sure I want to go back to your house." Chelsie said.

"We'll figure it out later. I'm not going to make you stay anywhere you don't want to." Gibbs said.

"Thanks." Chelsie said. They went and got caf-pows then went to Abby's lab. Gibbs didn't see Abby when he and Chelsie walked in.

"Abby?" Chelsie said. Chelsie looked around and Gibbs turned around. Abby was standing behind them because she came from the squad room.

"Gibbs, how do you know?" Abby asked. She walked to her computer and said, "I swear you're a wizard Gibbs."

"What do you got Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he handed her the caf-pow. Chelsie walked into the other side of Abby's lab so Gibbs could talk about the case with her.

"I analyzed the gun that Lieberman had and I found out that the gun he was using was actually stolen." Abby said.

"From who?" Gibbs asked.

"This gun is registered to… Commander Nathan Tom." She said.

"Why would a guy who runs a high security Navy base need a gun?" Tony asked as he walked in.

"Good question Tony." Abby said.

"Good work Abby." Gibbs said.

"Boss, I got the…" Tony started to say. Abby interrupted him.

"But Gibbs, there's more." Abby said. Gibbs walked back to her computer as she pulled up something else.

"I was talk…" Tony started to say. Gibbs and Abby looked at him. Tony looked back at the file and Abby and Gibbs turned back to the computer. "Why does everyone do that?" Tony asked himself.

"I analyzed the bullets from the stolen gun and found out that this is not the same gun used to kill Lyndon." Abby said. "We keep losing suspects." Gibbs looked at the screen as he thought for a minute.

"That's what they want us to think." Gibbs said. He motioned to Tony to follow him. Gibbs decided it was time to go down to interrogation to confront Lieberman.

**I hope everyone is liking the story so far! Here's the deal; I am going to be super busy next week, so I'm going to try to finish the story by today and publish the last four chapters on Friday. Be looking forward to what happens!**


	7. Chapter 7

Tony went into interrogation with Gibbs while Ziva and McGee watched from behind the glass.

"Gibbs is not going to go easy on this guy." McGee said.

"Has he ever gone easy on anyone?" Ziva asked.

"Not that I know of." McGee said. "Tony looks pretty serious too." Gibbs sat down and stared at Lieberman. Lieberman was holding an icepack to his head; Gibbs gave him a hard hit to the head.

"You going to say anything?" Gibbs asked. Lieberman put the icepack down and leaned back.

"Just helping out a friend." Lieberman said.

"You help friends kidnap girls?" Tony asked.

"Look, he gave me some money and told me what I needed to do." He said.

"Where'd you get the gun?" Gibbs asked.

"He gave it to me." Lieberman said.

"Who's he?" Gibbs said.

"My friend." He said.

"Now you're just making him mad Lieberman." Tony said. "Who is your friend?"

"Gus Stevens." He said.

"How do you know him?" Gibbs asked.

"We met in high school." He said. Gibbs realized this guy was just going to be a smart ass.

"You and Stevens were charged with battery against Lyndon in 09'. You want to explain what that was about?" Tony said.

"I want a lawyer." Lieberman said.

"You're going to need one." Gibbs said. Everyone moved to the other interrogation room to talk to Stevens.

"Agent Gibbs." Stevens said. "I thought we were clear on everything."

"That was before you had Lyndon's daughter kidnapped." Gibbs said.

"What are you talking about?" Stevens asked. Gibbs put a picture of Lieberman on the table.

"Do you know this guy?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, he's my friend. We met in high school and formed a band. After High School we lost touch, but ran into each other years ago." Stevens said.

"Did you run into each other with a drum stick?" Tony asked.

"Look, we decided to play some old songs when we met up. It was me, Lyndon, Lieberman and Stein." Stevens said.

"Stein?" Tony asked.

"Seb Stein, the only sane one out of the four of us." Stevens said. "We met at my house, so my daughter came out to watch us play. Lyndon's drum stick slipped out of his hand and hit her in the face. After I sent her to her mom, we started to beat up Lyndon." Stevens said.

"Sounds like an accident." Gibbs said.

"I know it was an accident, but that accident put her in the ER for two days. That was the most traumatizing thing she's every gone through." Stevens said.

"And you would know that how?" Tony asked.

"She's my daughter; I think I would know what goes on in her life." He said.

"Actually according to our records, you lost custody of her after that battery charge." Tony said.

"My wife and I divorced when she was two; it was nothing new to her that I wasn't in her daily life. After that charge I was allowed supervised visits with her." Stevens said. "My wife didn't think I was a threat to her; CPS did though."

"Where is your ex?" Gibbs asked.

"On an aircraft carrier, so have fun trying to get a hold of her." Stevens said.

"Look!" Gibbs said. "Lieberman said you hired him to kidnap Lyndon's daughter."

"Did I mention that Seb was the only sane one in the band?" Stevens asked.

"Come on Stevens just admit it." Tony said.

"Well I would, but I don't know what you're talking about." Stevens said. "I wouldn't risk losing my kid again."

"Where'd you get the gun?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't own a gun." Stevens said. "Are we done here?" Gibbs let Stevens go since there wasn't much evidence to hold him. Every route they tried to follow kept bringing them to a dead end. It was obvious that someone was lying, but the question was who? Gibbs walked through the squad room to his desk.

"Boss, I talked to Commander Tom. He said that he doesn't know anything about his gun being stolen. Unfortunately, the police report he filed three weeks ago backs up his argument." McGee said.

"Someone's playing us." Gibbs said.

"The question is who." Tony said.

"Tony, you did a good job last night; take Chelsie and Abby to Abby's apartment." Gibbs said.

"Thank you boss." Tony said. He grabbed his stuff and drove everyone to Abby's apartment.

"I like hanging out with you guys." Chelsie said on the way there.

"Aw, thanks." Abby said. "I like hanging out with you too."

"It makes me miss my friend, Halley." Chelsie said.

"Is she your friend from next door?" Abby asked.

"Yeah." Chelsie said. "Her mom is overseas right now, so she's staying with her grandma."

"Is her dad in the military too?" Abby asked.

"He used to be, but her parents have been divorced since she was two." Chelsie said. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her dad at all. I've just seen a few pictures of him" Tony was curious about this.

"Chelsie, do you by chance know his name?" he asked.

"I don't know, Stevens something." She said. Then it clicked.

"Gus Stevens?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Why?" she said.

"I'll explain later." Tony said. He pulled out his phone and called Gibbs with the breakthrough they've needed.

"What's going on?" Chelsie asked Abby.

"Gus Stevens is one of the guys we've been looking into." Abby said.

"Really?" Chelsie asked. "Then what does the guy who tried to take me have to do with this?"

"I don't know yet." Abby said. Tony hung up the phone as they pulled up to Abby's apartment. Abby let everyone into her apartment and they found something unexpected in there.


	8. Chapter 8

Sitting on the couch was… Stevens.

"I don't know why you're in my apartment, but get the hell out!" Abby said. Stevens looked up at them. Tony pulled out his gun and said,

"Do what the lady says or we're going to have a problem."

"We already had a problem." Stevens said. "We had a problem five years ago when your freak of a dad hit Halley in the face. You are the only besides her that knows what happened that night; aren't you?" Chelsie and Abby were hugging each other tightly.

"I don't know." Chelsie said. She let go of Abby and stared directly at Stevens. "Why did you kill my dad? Because you didn't want to lose her? You're the freak. She's told me everything about you; she barely even knows who you really are."

"That means you don't know anything." Stevens said.

"It means I know that you have let her time more times than she can count. If you remember right; I tripped over your amplifier the same night, but you don't see my dad seeking revenge." Chelsie said.

"He's not seeking anything right now." Stevens said. Chelsie started to tear up, but tried to walk over to him to smack him silly. Abby grabbed her arm before she could do anything. Stevens pulled out a gun and said,

"Agent DiNozzo, give me that gun or I'll shoot this one."

"I'll shoot you straight in the heart if you try to hurt either of them." Tony said. All of a sudden, Tony was knocked out by someone behind him; so was Chelsie and Abby.

"So good to see you." Stevens said. "Come in Seb."

Back at NCIS, the team was starting to understand what was going on.

"So Chelsie's friend's dad is the killer?" McGee asked.

"No, Lieberman is." Gibbs said.

"How do you know?" Ziva asked.

"He's refusing to say anything useful. The guilty ones usually don't talk." Gibbs said.

"Oh I got something else." McGee said. "The Woodbridge Thespian Center employs a lot of people."

"Get to the point McGee." Gibbs said.

"Right." McGee said. "According to their website, Lieberman works there too."

"How does that help?" Ziva asked.

"It helps because according to their employee work schedule, Lieberman had the night off two nights ago. Also he's a stagehand which means he wears all black a lot." McGee said.

"What about Stevens?" Gibbs asked.

"I thought we cleared him?" McGee asked.

"The law did; I didn't." Gibbs said. "Where is Stevens?" McGee typed in the phone number and was scared when he saw where Stevens was.

"He's at Abby's apartment." McGee said. He, Gibbs and Ziva rushed to get their gear and over to Abby's. Back at Abby's, Chelsie woke up and was terrified at what she saw. Tony and Abby were tied together on the couch and she was tied to a chair. She kicked her legs up to try to get Tony and Abby to wake up.

"Tony! Abby!" she yelled. They slowly started to come around. Tony looked around and processed the situations

"What the?" he said. He tried to get out of the rope, but it didn't work. Stevens and the other guy walked in.

"Agent DiNozzo and friends, meet Seb Stein." Stevens said.

"I thought you said he was the only sane one." Tony said.

"He's insane too." Stevens said. Seb looked at him. "Don't look at me like that; you know it's true." Stevens said.

"Okay, you caught us. What are you going to do now?" Tony said.

"Have some fun." Seb said. He pulled something out of a bag; it was a drum stick. First he hit Tony over the back of the head a few times with it before handing it to Stevens.

"I should've given this to Joe." Stevens said. He walked up to Chelsie holding the sticks. "You want to know how it feels to be smacked in the face?"

"No, but you do." Chelsie said. She managed to slip her foot out of the rope, so she kicked him square in the face.

"Whoa!" Abby said.

"Ow!" Stevens exclaimed. He held his face as he fell to the floor. "Seb!" Seb pulled a gun out of his pocket.

"You want to stop?" Seb asked aggressively. Chelsie stopped kicking him when she saw a gun. Tony got real nervous since he couldn't move. He had to do something before anyone got hurt. He looked down and discovered his gun was missing, but he did have something else handy.

"Look, just let them go. Do whatever you want to me." Tony said.

"We're planning on doing whatever we want." Stevens said.

"We have a plan?" Seb asked.

"Shut up!" Stevens said. Based on that comment, Tony assumed that didn't really know what they were doing. He fumbled with his belt to try to get the knife out.

"I can see why you had Lieberman do all the dirty work." Tony said. "You're clearly not criminal masterminds." Seb pointed his gun at Tony.

"What was that?" Seb asked.

"So what exactly happened two nights ago?" Abby asked. "I'm confused."

"Woodbridge Thespian Center is putting on a show called _The Importance of Being Earnest." _Stevens started to say.

"You're promoting a show while committing a crime?" Tony asked.

"That's not the point." Stevens said. "Rehearsals run extremely late, so I didn't have time to sneak over to do what I wanted to do to her dad. I sent Lieberman with my Navy Base Access Card. He was just doing what I asked him to do."

"Do your friends do whatever you ask them to do?" Tony asked.

"Pretty much." Stevens said.

"So it was Lieberman?" Abby asked.

"Are you following this at all?" Seb asked.

"I'm trying." Abby said.

"We're wasting our time. They're not what we want." Stevens said. He took the gun he had out of his jacket pocket. He pointed it at Tony and said, "You are definitely wasting my time."


	9. Chapter 9

Stevens pulled the trigger as the door burst open.

"NCIS Drop your weapon!" Gibbs yelled. Tony knew that his team would pull through for them.

"What?" Stevens said when the gun didn't fire.

"It's called safety mode. You should learn about it." Tony said. Stevens looked at Gibbs, McGee and Ziva then dropped Tony's gun. While Stevens was okay to surrender, Seb had other plans. He took off running, but Ziva was able to catch him. Seb and Stevens were sitting handcuffed on a bench while the team was untying Chelsie, Abby and Tony.

"Tony, what happened?" Gibbs asked as he untied Tony.

"Stevens was waiting for us; I don't know how he figured out we were here." Tony said. "Seb, the genius tagged along; turns out he's not sane after all. We also figured out why Lieberman wasn't talking."

"He's the killer." Gibbs said. He finally got the tightly tied rope off of Tony's wrists. Tony laid back and massaged his wrist.

"Thanks boss." He said. He leaned over to untie his ankles while Gibbs walked over to talk to Chelsie. Ziva got her untied and left to give her and Gibbs some space.

"Are you okay?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Chelsie said.

"I don't mean physically." Gibbs said. She looked up at him then back down at the ground. "It's okay to admit that you're hurting."

"I know." She said. "I just want my dad."

"If I could I would bring him to you." Gibbs said.

"What about my mom? Is she still coming?" Chelsie asked.

"She's coming as fast as she can." Gibbs said.

"Actually, she just got to DC." Ziva said as she hung up her phone.

"Really?" Chelsie said.

"Her flight just landed and she's on her way to NCIS." Ziva said.

"Can we go now?" Chelsie asked.

"Sure." Gibbs said. "You can ride with Tony and Abby. Ziva, McGee, take these two." Everyone got in their cars and drove to NCIS.

"Are you excited to see your mom?" Abby asked.

"I'm really excited!" Chelsie said. "I haven't seen her since March."

"That's a long time." Tony said. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

"Hey Tony, I have a question." Chelsie said.

"About what?" Tony asked.

"How did you know to put your gun on safety?" she asked.

"Anticipation; it's part of the job." Tony said.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Chelsie said.

"Chelsie, we can still hang out after this. Just because the job is over doesn't mean we can't hang out." Abby said.

"I really like you guys. Gibbs is incredible; he knows everything. I don't know how he can see through me, but he does. The only other person that can do that is Halley." Chelsie said.

"Gibbs knows anything and everything." Tony said. "You know he does the same thing with me?"

"What thing?" Abby asked.

"If I'm hurting he always knows." Tony said. "He sees right through me."

"You know he loves you Tony." Abby said.

"Who doesn't?" Tony asked. Abby laughed. "You know you're his favorite Abby."

"I know." Abby said. "I can get away with things that you guys dream about getting away with."

"Yeah, you don't get slapped in the back of the head." Tony said.

"He has threatened that before." Abby said.

"Gibbs threatened to slap you like he slaps me?" Tony asked.

"Yep. He said it wouldn't be on the head." Abby said. Tony glanced over at her for a second. She smiled at him. Tony turned back to the looking at the road. The windshield was covered in raindrops and thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Uh oh." Tony said. He flicked the windshield wiper on.

"We better get back before a storm hits." Abby said.

"What if the storm keeps my mom on the plane all night?" Chelsie asked.

"Don't say that Chelsie." Abby said.

"Yeah don't worry; it doesn't look too bad." Tony said. The storm disagreed. A loud clap of thunder rang out as a bright lightning bolt flashed across the sky.

"Are you sure about that?" Chelsie asked.

"Well I'm a Federal Agent, not a meteorologist." Tony said.

"That means no." Abby said. Another thunderclap rang out which made Abby and Chelsie duck.

"Well at least it's not raining too hard." Tony said. Abby looked out the window and the rain started to pour. Tony sighed annoyed.

"Sorry kid. We're going to have to wait out the rain." Tony said.

"Why?" Chelsie asked disappointed.

"I can't see." Tony said. "It looks like we're under a waterfall." He drove a few more miles to find an exit. Right as Tony parked the car in a gas station parking lot, his phone rang.

"Tony, are you guys okay?" Gibbs asked. It sounded like he was having trouble navigating through the rain too.

"We're fine boss. I stopped at a gas station because I can't see well enough to drive." Tony said.

"Do what you need to do to keep everyone safe, but try to get back to NCIS as fast as you can." Gibbs said.

"Copy that." Tony said. Before Tony could hang up, Abby grabbed his phone.

"Hi Gibbs!" Abby said.

"Hi Abbs, do you need something?" Gibbs asked.

"Well if you were here I'd ask for a hug, but since you're not here, I thought we could talk about…" Abby said. Gibbs hung up on her. Abby looked at the phone and said, "Gibbs?"

"He hung up didn't he?" Tony asked.

"Yup." Abby said. She handed his phone back.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" Chelsie asked.

"I don't know." Tony said. All three of them sat in the car for twenty minutes playing on their phones while the rain poured down. Tony looked up from his phone and noticed something; he could see out the windshield. "Ah, that's more like it."

"What?" Chelsie asked.

"I can see; that means we can get to NCIS." Tony said.

"Finally." Abby said. Chelsie smiled and said,

"I can't wait to see my mom." Abby hugged her then called Ziva.

"Hey Ziva, is Chelsie's mom here?" she asked.

"Almost; the flight was grounded and they're just letting passengers off now." Ziva said. "She should be here anytime."

"Alright thanks." Abby said.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony finally got everyone back to NCIS. Chelsie stayed with Gibbs and Abby down in Abby's lab while she waited for her mom.

"I really appreciate everything you guys have done for me." Chelsie said.

"It's what we do." Gibbs said. She smiled at him. "If you ever have a problem with anything else, don't hesitate to call." Gibbs handed her his card.

"Thanks." She said. "I'm ready to go back to my life. My dad was the best; I don't know how I'm going to go on without him."

"You know what Ziva told another girl one time?" Abby said. "Loss is a part of life and we don't get over the loss of a loved one; we just get through." Chelsie sighed and put her hands on her head.

"I want Halley." She said. "Her dad is crazy."

"Yeah he is." Gibbs said. "You two don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Thank god." Chelsie said.

"You two must be good friends." Gibbs said.

"She's my best friend." She said.

"It's good to have friends to lean on." Abby said. Ziva walked in with Chelsie's mom and said,

"And family." Chelsie ran over to her mom and hugged her tightly.

"Mom!" she said.

"I missed you so much." Her mom said. She looked up at Gibbs and Abby and said, "Thank you."

"Anytime." Gibbs said. Gibbs and Ziva stayed in Abby's lab after Chelsie and her mom left.

"I'm going to miss that kid." Abby said.

Later that night, Abby went over to Gibbs house. She was feeling lonely.

"Hi Gibbs." Abby said. Gibbs looked up from sanding the boat.

"Hi Abbs, you okay?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, I'm just kind of lonely." Abby said.

"Do you miss her?" Gibbs said.

"Yes." Abby said. "This job just gives you every emotion imaginable more than once." Abby noticed a picture on the boat. She picked it up to get a closer look; it was a picture of Gibbs' daughter, Kelly. "Gibbs, has this case reminded you of someone?" Abby asked. Gibbs set his sander down on the boat then sat down on his work bench.

"Some people never leave you." Gibbs said.

"I know." Abby said. "You know you're doing exactly what Chelsie was doing earlier. I guess that's just how you work."

"It's not the best method, but it works." Gibbs said.

"You know having a good support system helps." Abby said.

"My team is my support system." Gibbs said. "It helps to have all of you in my life."

"Aw Gibbs." Abby said as she hugged him. "Even Tony helps? He's not the most helpful person."

"All of you help, even Tony. He's just like me; that's why I give him so much grief." Gibbs said. Abby smiled at him.

"You know I can hear you right?" Tony said. He was at the top of the stairs.

"Well now we do." Abby said. She looked at Gibbs as Tony walked down.

"Gibbs, I've been around you long enough to know that's your way of saying you love all

of us." She said.

Abby put her arm around Tony as he sat down next to her.

"You're right." Gibbs said.

"The three of us have been through the toughest of times together." Abby said.

"Don't forget McGee." Tony said.

"Of course not, but you know what I mean." Abby said.

"Yeah I do." Tony said.

"I really love you guys too." Tony said. Abby hugged both of them. Gibbs let Abby and Tony stay the rest of the night at his house. They spent the rest of the night talking about old times as they made new memories.


End file.
